Equipment inspection support system, equipment inspection support method, and program therefor

ABSTRACT

An equipment inspection support system, equipment inspection support method, and program including maintenance and inspection management unit selecting and transmitting to a terminal device inspection item contents stored in contents storage unit, receiving inspection result data transmitted from terminal device; timing determination unit determining status information acquisition timing by status information acquisition device based on inspection item contents transmitted to terminal device by maintenance and inspection management unit and the inspection result data transmitted from the terminal device; status information acquisition unit collecting status information acquired by the status information acquisition device according to status information acquisition timing determined by timing determination unit; result data control unit creating result data correspondence table associating the inspection result data received by maintenance and inspection management unit and status information collected by the status information acquisition unit; and inspection result storage unit storing inspection result data, status information and result data correspondence table.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an equipment inspection system,equipment inspection method, and program therefor; more specifically, itrelates to an equipment inspection support system, equipment inspectionmethod, and program therefor using multimodal control in which aplurality of interfaces work together.

2. Background Information

When performing maintenance/inspection work on equipment at a powerplant, manufacturing plant or other large plant, an inspectiontechnician brings to the site a paper inspection list on which aplurality of inspection items are printed, and in accordance with thisinspection list, performs visual inspection, measurement, andadjustment. In accordance with the inspection list, the inspectiontechnician sequentially locates and visually inspects sections to beinspected, and enters inspection results, such as yes/no and measurementvalues before and after adjustment, into applicable boxes on theinspection list. After completing such inspection work, the inspectiontechnician brings back the inspection list on which the inspectionresults are entered to a facility management center, and inputs theinspection results into a management system such as a host computer.

In this case, because there are many pieces of equipment to be inspectedat the site or inspection items, work efficiency on site is low,resulting in incorrect entry or omission of inspection results. Theremay also be cases where, due to error or negligence when an inspectiontechnician has become overly familiar with the operations, non-factualinspection results and measured values may be entered. To prevent suchinspection result entry mistakes and skipping of inspection items, aninspection technician may be accompanied by an observer who observes theinspection operation, but this entails the problem of increased laborcosts.

As an alternative to having such an accompanying observer, an inspectiontechnician is made to carry a small video camera, record images duringthe inspection, and bring the images back together with the inspectionresults. In this case, the inspection technician inputs the inspectionresults and images from the inspection operation into a managementsystem to store the inspection result data and images in a correlatedmanner. Thereafter, a person in charge matches the inspection resultdata and images to check for omissions, input mistakes or the like. Inthis case, when there are a great number of pieces of equipment andinspection items, the correlation of inspection result data with imagesfor each inspection item is complicated, with the danger of incorrectinput.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an equipment inspection support system,equipment inspection support method, and program therefor to improvework efficiency and enhance inspection result data reliability ofequipment maintenance inspection work at a large plant and the likewhere there are a great many inspection items.

The equipment inspection support system relating to a first aspect ofthe present invention is used to support an inspection technician who isto perform equipment maintenance inspection by operating 1) a terminaldevice for sequentially displaying details of work to be performed bysuch inspection technician and for receiving input of inspection resultdata from the maintenance inspection work, and 2) a status informationacquisition device for acquiring status information of a maintenance andinspection work site. The inspection result data input into the terminaldevice is acquired, and status information acquired by the statusinformation acquisition device is collected. The system comprises astorage unit for storing the inspection item contents for eachmaintenance and inspection work to be transmitted to the terminal deviceand interaction scenarios for determining the order of the inspectionitem contents to be transmitted to the terminal device according to theequipment maintenance inspection procedures; a maintenance andinspection management unit for selecting and transmitting to theterminal device the inspection contents stored in the contents storageunit based on the interaction scenario stored in the contents storageunit and the inspection result data transmitted from the terminaldevice, and receiving the inspection result data transmitted from theterminal device; a timing determination unit for determining timing forstatus information acquisition by the status information acquisitiondevice based on the inspection item contents transmitted to the terminaldevice by the maintenance and inspection management unit and theinspection result data transmitted from the terminal device; a statusinformation acquisition unit for collecting the status informationacquired by the status information acquisition device according to thestatus information acquisition timing determined by the timingdetermination unit; a result data control unit for creating a resultdata correspondence table for associating the inspection result datareceived by the maintenance and inspection management unit with thestatus information collected by the status information acquisition unit;and an inspection result storage unit for storing inspection resultdata, status information, and result data correspondence table.

In this case, appropriate inspection item contents are sequentiallytransmitted from the maintenance and inspection management unit to theterminal device operated by the inspection technician and instructionsfor maintenance and inspection work are given to the inspectiontechnician to assist with the work, and inspection result datatransmitted from the terminal device is acquired and stored in theinspection result storage unit and managed therein. Here, the statusinformation acquired by the status information acquisition unit at theappropriate time is associated with the inspection result data andstored in the inspection result storage unit, thereby allowing easydetection of inspection result data omission and input errors.

The equipment inspection support system relating to a second aspect ofthe present invention is an equipment inspection support systemaccording to the first aspect, wherein the status informationacquisition device is a video camera for acquiring image data of themaintenance and inspection work site.

In this case, the image data of the maintenance and inspection work siteand the inspection result data can be associated with each other andthus managed, thereby allowing easy detection of inspection result dataomission, input mistakes, or the like.

The equipment inspection support system relating to a third aspect ofthe present invention is an equipment inspection support systemaccording to the second aspect, wherein the status informationacquisition device further comprises one or more sensors from among suchsensors as a condenser microphone, odor sensor, temperature sensor,humidity sensor, tactile sensor, pressure sensor and the like foracquiring status information of the maintenance and inspection work siteother than image data.

In this case, omission, input mistakes or the like of the inspectionresult data can be easily detected based on the correlated statusinformation from the various sensors of the maintenance and inspectionwork site.

The equipment inspection support system relating to a fourth aspect ofthe present invention is an equipment inspection support systemaccording to the third aspect, wherein the timing determination unitcomprises a result data judgment unit for judging whether the inspectionresult data is normal or abnormal, and when the status informationacquisition device is a video camera, regardless of whether the judgmentresult by the result data judgment unit was normal or abnormal, thestatus information collected by the status information acquisition unitis correlated with inspection result data and stored in the inspectionresult storage unit, and when the status information acquisition deviceis not a video camera, only when the judgment by the result datajudgment unit was abnormal, the status information collected by thestatus information acquisition unit is correlated with the inspectionresult data and stored in the inspection result storage unit.

In this case, inspection result data omission and input errors can beeasily detected using image data, and when inspection result data isabnormal, work site conditions can be learned based on the statusinformation from the various sensors, thereby allowing quick andappropriate measures against the abnormality.

The equipment inspection support system according to a fifth aspect ofthe present invention is an equipment inspection support systemaccording to the third aspect, wherein the timing determination unitcomprises a result data judgment unit for judging whether the inspectionresult data is normal or abnormal, and only when the judgment by theresult data judgment unit is abnormal, the status information collectedby the status information acquisition unit is correlated with theinspection result data and stored in the inspection result storage unit.

In this case, the volume of status information to be stored in theinspection result storage unit is reduced, thereby easing the datamanagement burden.

The equipment inspection system relating to a sixth aspect of thepresent invention is an equipment inspection support system according tothe second aspect, further comprising an image recognition unit foranalyzing image data transmitted from the status information acquisitiondevice for comparison with the inspection result data transmitted fromthe terminal device, wherein when there are inconsistencies in the imagerecognition unit comparison results, inspection item contents givinginstructions for re-inspection of the relevant inspection item aretransmitted to the terminal device by the maintenance and inspectionmanagement unit.

In this case, the status at the site of the maintenance and inspectioncan be easily grasped based on the image data, enabling the acquisitionof highly reliable inspection result data.

The equipment inspection support system relating to a seventh aspect ofthe present invention is an equipment inspection support systemaccording to any one of the first to sixth aspects, further comprisingan inspection result query unit for allowing a third party to make queryof the inspection result data and status information stored in theinspection result storage unit, a re-inspection instruction unit for,regarding the maintenance and inspection work corresponding to theinspection result data and status information stored in the inspectionresult storage unit, causing the inspection item contents for givinginstructions for additional inspection to be transmitted from themaintenance and inspection management unit to the terminal device,and/or causing the status information acquisition unit to reacquire thestatus information from the status information acquisition device.

In this case, a third party such as a maintenance and inspection worksupervisor can monitor the inspection result data and correspondingstatus information, and when there is a problem, can re-inspect theinspection item, reacquire status information, and otherwise takeappropriate measures rapidly, thereby enhancing the reliability of theinspection result data.

The equipment inspection support system relating to an eighth aspect ofthe present invention is an equipment inspection support systemaccording to the first aspect, wherein a status information server thatadds metadata to the status information for associating the statusinformation acquired by the status information acquisition device withthe inspection item contents in the terminal device and manages thesame, is connected to the status information acquisition device, and thestatus information acquisition unit acquires at once status informationrelating to a plurality of maintenance and inspection operations fromthe status information server.

In this case, the amount of data transmitted can be reduced, enablingoperations to be performed even in less than ideal communicationenvironments, and thereby enhancing inspection result data reliability.

The equipment inspection support system relating to a ninth aspect ofthe present invention is an equipment inspection support systemaccording to the first aspect, wherein inspection result data and statusinformation is stored together with a time stamp based on input time,and further comprising a data security management unit that deems asvalid, from among status information associated with inspection resultdata, only the status information input during a certain period of timeafter input of the inspection result data.

The equipment inspection support system relating to a tenth aspect ofthe present invention is an equipment inspection support systemaccording to the first aspect, wherein status information acquisitionmeans inserts additional information such as maintenance and inspectionwork location, acquisition time, inspection technician data and the likeinto acquired status information using an invisible digital watermark.

The equipment inspection support system relating to an eleventh aspectof the present invention is an equipment inspection support systemaccording to the first aspect, further comprising a result confirmationunit for comparing, in time series and for each maintenance andinspection operation, inspection result data stored in the inspectionresult storage unit.

The equipment inspection support system relating to a twelfth aspect ofthe present invention is an equipment inspection support systemaccording the second aspect, further comprising an object of inspectiondetector for performing image recognition of image data from the statusinformation acquisition device, determining the identification codeattached to the equipment or device to be inspected, and determiningconformity with the inspection item contents currently being processedby the maintenance and inspection management unit.

The equipment inspection support method relating to a thirteenth aspectof the present invention is used to support an inspection technician whois to perform equipment maintenance inspection by operating 1) aterminal device for sequentially displaying details of work to beperformed by such inspection technician and for receiving input ofinspection result data from the maintenance inspection work, and 2) astatus information acquisition device for acquiring status informationof a maintenance and inspection work site. The inspection result datainput into the terminal device is acquired, and status informationacquired by the status information acquisition device is collected. Themethod comprising the steps of storing the inspection item contents foreach maintenance and inspection work to be transmitted to the terminaldevice and interaction scenarios for determining the order of theinspection item contents to be transmitted to the terminal deviceaccording to the equipment maintenance inspection procedures; selectingand transmitting to the terminal device the inspection item contentsstored in the contents storage unit based on the interaction scenariostored in the contents storage unit and the inspection result datatransmitted from the terminal device, and receiving the inspectionresult data transmitted from the terminal device; determining timing forstatus information acquisition by the status information acquisitiondevice based on the inspection item contents transmitted to the terminaldevice by the maintenance and inspection management unit and theinspection result data transmitted from the terminal device; collectingthe status information acquired by the status information acquisitiondevice according to the status information acquisition timing determinedby the timing determination unit; creating a result data correspondencetable for associating the inspection result data received by themaintenance and inspection management unit with the status informationcollected by the status information acquisition unit; and storing theinspection result data, status information, and result datacorrespondence table.

In this case, appropriate inspection item contents are sequentiallytransmitted to the terminal device operated by the inspection technicianand instructions for maintenance and inspection work are given to theinspection technician to assist with the work, and inspection resultdata transmitted from the terminal device is acquired and stored in theinspection result storage unit, and thus managed therein. Here, thestatus information acquired by the status information acquisition unitat the appropriate time is associated with the inspection result dataand stored in the inspection result storage unit, thereby allowing easydetection of inspection result data omission and input errors.

A program relating to a fourteenth aspect of the present inventioncauses a computer to execute an equipment inspection support method thatis used to support an inspection technician who is to perform equipmentmaintenance inspection by operating 1) a terminal device forsequentially displaying details of work to be performed by suchinspection technician and for receiving input of inspection result datafrom the maintenance inspection work, and 2) a status informationacquisition device for acquiring status information of a maintenance andinspection work site. The inspection result data input into the terminaldevice is acquired, and status information acquired by the statusinformation acquisition device is collected. The method comprises thesteps of storing the inspection item contents for each maintenance andinspection work to be transmitted to the terminal device and interactionscenarios for determining the order of the inspection item contents tobe transmitted to the terminal device according to the equipmentmaintenance inspection procedures; selecting and transmitting to theterminal device the inspection item contents stored in the contentsstorage unit based on the interaction scenario stored in the contentsstorage unit and the inspection result data transmitted from theterminal device, and receiving the inspection result data transmittedfrom the terminal device; determining timing for status informationacquisition by the status information acquisition device based on theinspection item contents transmitted to the terminal device by themaintenance and inspection management unit and the inspection resultdata transmitted from the terminal device; collecting the statusinformation acquired by the status information acquisition deviceaccording to the status information acquisition timing determined by thetiming determination unit; creating a result data correspondence tablefor associating the inspection result data received by the maintenanceand inspection management unit with the status information collected bythe status information acquisition unit; and storing the inspectionresult data, status information, and result data correspondence table.

With the present invention, by transmission of appropriate inspectionitem contents to an inspection technician performing maintenance andinspection work, assistance is given for the maintenance and inspectionwork, and inspection result data can be easily acquired; further, byautomatically acquiring status information of the maintenance andinspection work site, associating the same with inspection result data,and storing the same, easy detection can be made of skipped inspections,input mistakes, or the like that may happen during maintenance andinspection operations, thereby enhancing reliability of inspectionresult data

These and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the presentinvention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from thefollowing detailed description, which, taken in conjunction with theannexed drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring now to the attached drawings which form a part of thisoriginal disclosure:

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a schematic configuration of anequipment inspection support system according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining another example of a schematicconfiguration of an equipment inspection support system according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining yet another example of a schematicconfiguration of an equipment inspection support system according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the first embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a result data correspondence table;

FIG. 6 is a control flowchart of the first embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining one example of an image serverdefinition file;

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining one example of a status informationcollection server definition file;

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining an inspection result query screen;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of the second embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a control flowchart of the second embodiment;

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining an inspection result query screen;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing processing of direct instructionsaccording to inspection result query;

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of the third embodiment; and

FIG. 15 is a flowchart of the third embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will be explained in detail based on theembodiments.

Schematic Configuration 1

FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of an equipment inspectionsupport system relating to a first embodiment of the present invention.

With this system, an inspection technician performing equipmentmaintenance and inspection work carries a terminal device 101 forsequentially displaying operation details and for allowing the operatorto input inspection result data regarding the maintenance and inspectionwork, and a status information acquisition device 102 for acquiringstatus information of the maintenance and inspection work site. Here,the terminal device 101 is a communication terminal capable ofcommunicating with a maintenance and inspection work management center,for which PDAs, PCs, cell phones, and other communication devices may beused. Further, the status information acquisition device 102 is a devicefor acquiring status information corresponding to the type ofmaintenance and inspection work being carried out, conditions of thesite, or other such factors, and it may be a video camera and condensermicrophone, and one or more sensors from among such sensors as atemperature sensor, humidity sensor, odor sensor, tactile sensor,pressure sensor and the like, to be carried by the inspectiontechnician.

The equipment inspection support system comprises a contents storageunit 103, maintenance and inspection management unit 104, timingdetermination unit 105, status information acquisition unit 106, resultdata control unit 108, and inspection result storage unit 107.

The contents storage unit 103 has stored therein inspection itemcontents for each maintenance and inspection operation, such contents tobe transmitted to the terminal device 101, and interaction scenarios fordetermining the order of the inspection item contents to be transmittedto the terminal device 101, based on the equipment maintenance andinspection work procedures.

The maintenance and inspection management unit 104, based on theinteraction scenarios stored in the contents storage unit 103 andinspection result data transmitted from the terminal device 101, selectsand transmits to the terminal device 101 inspection item contents storedin the contents storage unit 103 and receives the inspection result datatransmitted from the terminal device 101.

The timing determination unit 105 determines timing for statusinformation acquisition by the status information acquisition device 102based on the inspection item contents transmitted to the terminal device101 by the maintenance and inspection management unit 104 and theinspection result data transmitted from the terminal device 101. If thestatus information acquisition device 102 is a video camera, the timingdetermination unit 105 may be configured so as to determine timing forstart of recording based on the timing of transmission of the inspectionitem contents, and to determine timing for stop of recording based onthe timing of receipt of the inspection result data from the terminaldevice 101. Further, when the status information acquisition device 102is a sensor, the timing determination unit 105 may be configured so asto acquire status information corresponding to the relevant inspectionitem while the work is in progress.

The timing determination unit 105 may be configured so as to comprise aresult data judgment unit (not shown in the drawings) for judgingwhether the inspection result data is normal or abnormal. For example,when the status information acquisition device 102 is a video camera,regardless of whether the judgment by the result data judgment unit isnormal or abnormal, the status information collected by the statusinformation acquisition unit 106 is correlated with the inspectionresult data and stored in the inspection result storage unit 107, andwhen the status information acquisition device 102 is a device otherthan a video camera, only when the judgment by the result data judgmentunit is abnormal, is the status information collected by the statusinformation acquisition unit 106 correlated with the inspection resultdata and stored in the inspection result storage unit 107.

Further, the timing determination unit 105 comprises a result datajudgment unit (not shown in the drawings) for judging whether theinspection result data is normal or abnormal, and it may be configuredso that, only when the judgment result by the result data judgment unitis abnormal, is the status information collected by the statusinformation acquisition unit 106 correlated with the inspection resultdata and stored in the inspection result storage unit 107.

The status information acquisition unit 106 collects status informationacquired by the status information acquisition device 102 in accordancewith the status information acquisition timing determined by the timingdetermination unit 105. When the status information acquisition device102 is a video camera, recording of image data is started by the statusinformation acquisition device 102 at the recording start timingdetermined by the timing determination unit 105, and recording of imagedata recording is stopped by the status information acquisition device102 at the recording stop timing.

The result data control unit 108 creates a result data correspondencetable that associates inspection result data received by the maintenanceand inspection management unit 104 with status information collected bythe status information acquisition unit 106. For example, when thestatus information acquisition device 102 is a video camera, a file nameis provided to image data constituting moving images, and a result datacorrespondence table is generated in which inspection result data isassociated with image data file names for the respective inspectionitems.

The inspection result storage unit 107 has stored therein the inspectionresult data received by the maintenance and inspection management unit104, the status information acquired by the status informationacquisition unit 106, and the result data correspondence table generatedby the result data control unit 108.

Schematic Configuration 2

FIG. 2 shows a schematic configuration of an equipment inspectionsupport system according to another embodiment of the present invention.

As with the above-described system, an inspection technician performingequipment maintenance and inspection work carries a terminal device 201for sequentially displaying operation details and for allowing theoperator to input inspection result data regarding the maintenance andinspection work, and a status information acquisition device 202 foracquiring status information of the maintenance and inspection worksite. Here, the terminal device 2101 is a communication terminal capableof communicating with a maintenance and inspection work managementcenter, for which PDAs, PCs, cell phones, and other communicationdevices may be used. Further, the status information acquisition device202 is a device for acquiring status information corresponding to thetype of maintenance and inspection work being carried out, conditions ofthe site status, or other such factors, and it comprises at least avideo camera, and if necessary may also comprise a condenser microphone,and one or more sensors from among such sensors as a temperature sensor,humidity sensor, odor sensor, tactile sensor, pressure sensor and thelike, to be carried by the inspection technician.

The equipment inspection support system comprises a contents storageunit 203, maintenance and inspection management unit 204, timingdetermination unit 205, status information acquisition unit 206, resultdata control unit 208, image recognition unit 209 and inspection resultstorage unit 207.

The contents storage unit 203, maintenance and inspection managementunit 204, timing determination unit 205, status information acquisitionunit 206, result data control unit 208 and inspection result storageunit 207 have configurations identical respectively to the contentsstorage unit 103, maintenance and inspection management unit 104, timingdetermination unit 105, status information acquisition unit 106, resultdata control unit 108 and inspection result storage unit 107 shown inFIG. 1, and explanations thereof are omitted here.

The image recognition unit 209 analyzes image data transmitted from thestatus information acquisition device 202, and compares the same withinspection result data transmitted from the terminal device 201. Whenthe comparison by the image recognition unit 209 indicatesnon-conformity, a signal is transmitted to the maintenance andinspection management unit 204 to the effect that there isnon-conformity. In response to the signal from the image recognitionunit 209 of non-conformity, the maintenance and inspection managementunit 204 selects from the contents storage unit 203 inspection itemcontents for giving re-inspection instructions regarding the relevantinspection item, and transmits such inspection item contents to theterminal device 201.

Schematic Configuration 3

FIG. 3 shows a schematic configuration of an equipment inspectionsupport system according to yet another embodiment of the presentinvention.

As with the above described systems, an inspection technician performingequipment maintenance and inspection work carries a terminal device 301for sequentially displaying operation details and for allowing theoperator to input inspection result data regarding the maintenance andinspection work, and a status information acquisition device 302 foracquiring status information of the maintenance and inspection worksite. Here, the terminal device 301 is a communication terminal capableof communicating with a maintenance and inspection work managementcenter, for which PDAs, PCs, cell phones, and other communicationdevices may be used. Further, the status information acquisition device302 is a device for acquiring status information corresponding to thetype of maintenance and inspection work being carried out, conditions ofthe site status, or other such factors, and it may be a video camera andcondenser microphone, and one or more sensors from among such sensors asa temperature sensor, humidity sensor, odor sensor, tactile sensor,pressure sensor and the like, to be carried by the inspectiontechnician.

The equipment inspection support system comprises a contents storageunit 303, maintenance and inspection management unit 304, timingdetermination unit 305, status information acquisition unit 306, resultdata control unit 308, inspection result storage unit 307, inspectionresult query unit 309 and re-inspection instruction unit 310.

The contents storage unit 303, maintenance and inspection managementunit 304, timing determination unit 305, status information acquisitionunit 306, result data control unit 308 and inspection result storageunit 307 have configurations identical respectively to the contentsstorage unit 103, maintenance and inspection management unit 104, timingdetermination unit 105, status information acquisition unit 106, resultdata control unit 108 and inspection result storage unit 107 shown inFIG. 1, and the explanations thereof are omitted here.

The inspection result query unit 309 allows a third party to query theinspection result data and status information stored in the inspectionresult storage unit 307.

The re-inspection instruction unit 310, with respect to the maintenanceand inspection work corresponding to the inspection result data andstatus information stored in the inspection result storage unit 307,causes the inspection item contents for giving instructions foradditional inspection to be transmitted from the maintenance andinspection management unit 304 to the terminal device 301.

For example, when a personal computer operated by a maintenance andinspection work supervisor or other person in charge of operations isconnected to the terminal device 301 via a network, such computer can beoperated to call up for display on the PC monitor the inspection resultdata and status information stored in the inspection result storage unit307, enabling the data to be checked. If as a result of the check by thesupervisor or person in charge, it is found that the data is not inconformity, instructions for re-inspection or reacquisition of statusinformation are received and the respective instructions are given tothe maintenance and inspection management unit 304.

First Embodiment

Next, a first embodiment of the present invention will be explained withreference to FIG. 4.

The explanation will be given for a case where an inspection techniciancarries a terminal device 411 for presentation of inspection itemcontents through voice interaction and for input of inspection results,and a video camera 410 for acquiring image data as a status informationacquisition device.

A contents storage unit 401 has stored therein inspection item contentsfor each maintenance and inspection operation, such contents to betransmitted to the terminal device 411 carried by the inspectiontechnician, and interaction scenarios for determining the order of theinspection item contents to be transmitted to the terminal device 411based on the equipment maintenance and inspection operation procedures.Here, to present the inspection item contents through voice interaction,inspection item contents 1, inspection item contents 2, etc., which arewritten in VXML, are stored in the contents storage unit 401, togetherwith interaction scenarios showing maintenance and inspectionprocedures.

A voice interaction server 408 makes request for inspection itemcontents to a maintenance and inspection management unit 402 based oninstructions from the terminal device 411 of the inspection technicianand displays the inspection item contents transmitted from themaintenance and inspection management unit 402, or it interprets theinspection item contents transmitted from the maintenance and inspectionmanagement unit 402 according to instructions from the maintenance andinspection management unit 402, performs a voice synthesizing process,and outputs the corresponding voice data to the terminal device 411.Further, when the inspection technician responds by speaking, the voiceis received and recognized and transmitted to the maintenance andinspection management unit 402 as inspection result data. The voiceinteraction server 408 may be configured so as to operate in the sameterminal having the maintenance and inspection management unit 402;alternatively, it may be contained in the terminal device 411, or it maybe configured as a separate device.

The maintenance and inspection management unit 402 acquires theinspection item contents requested by the voice interaction server 408from the contents storage unit 401. At this time, the maintenance andinspection management unit 402 acquires a contents name or a form/fieldname provided in the contents, and uses this as inspection item name.The maintenance and inspection management unit 402 transmits therequested inspection item contents to the voice interaction server 408,and notifies a timing determination unit 403 of the transmission timingsignal for the inspection item contents.

The timing determination unit 403, based on the inspection item contentstransmission timing signal received from the maintenance and inspectionmanagement unit 402, judges whether image data is to be acquired fromthe video camera 410, and when judgment is made that the image data isto be acquired, gives notice of a recording start command to an imagecontrol unit 404. The image control unit 404, having received therecording start command, notifies an image server 409 of the recordingstart command.

The inspection technician response transmitted via the terminal device411 is subject to voice recognition processing via the voice interactionserver 408, and transmitted to the maintenance and inspection managementunit 402 as inspection result data. Upon receiving the inspection resultdata, the maintenance and inspection management unit 402 notifies thetiming determination unit 403 of the reception timing signal. The timingdetermination unit 403, having received the reception timing signal,judges whether to stop acquiring image data, and when judgment is madethat acquisition of the image data is to be stopped, a recording stopcommand is transmitted to the image control unit 404. The image controlunit 404, having received the recording stop command, notifies the imageserver 409 of the recording stop command. The image control unit 404acquires the image data recorded by the video camera 410, and notifies aresult data control unit 412 of the inspection technician name and imagedata.

Here, the image server 409 may be configured so as to operate in thesame device in which the maintenance and inspection management unit 402is provided, be included in the terminal device 411, or be a separatedevice. The image server 409 can be defined by a definition file asshown in FIG. 7, so that the image control unit 404, based on thisdefinition file, recognizes the image server 409 as the destination fornotification of a recording start command and recording stop command.

The result data control unit 412 creates a result data correspondencetable associating the inspection item names received from themaintenance and inspection management unit 402 with inspection resultdata, operator name, and image data, and stores the same in aninspection result storage unit 405.

The result data correspondence table, as shown in FIG. 5, is created soas to associate inspection item names with inspection result data andimage file names. The inspection result column is constituted by entriessuch as yes/no, numerical data, or other data, depending on theinspection item. Further, image file names may be automaticallygenerated when image data is acquired by the image control unit 404. Inaddition, when the inspection technician name is acquired, acorresponding column can be provided in the result data correspondencetable so that such data can be input in such column.

With the equipment inspection support system according to the firstembodiment of the present invention, processing is carried out inaccordance with the flowchart shown in FIG. 6.

When the voice interaction server 408 and image server 409 are started,a connection with the maintenance and inspection management unit 402 isestablished, and definition files indicating respective datatransmission/reception destinations are exchanged.

When an inspection technician starts up the terminal device 411, theconnection with the server of the corresponding modal is established andinspection operations are commenced. Here, connection is made with thevoice interaction server 408 and instructions to start inspection aretransmitted. The voice interaction server 408 transmits the inspectionitem contents request to the maintenance and inspection management unit402 based on the instructions from the terminal device 411.

The maintenance and inspection management unit 402 requests inspectionitem contents from the contents storage unit 401, and selects andtransmits to the voice interaction server 408 inspection item contentsstored in the contents storage unit 401. At this time, the maintenanceand inspection management unit 402 acquires inspection item names fromthe inspection item contents, and notifies the timing determination unit403 of the transmission timing signal that indicates that the inspectionitem names and inspection item contents have been transmitted. Thetiming determination unit 403 transmits a recording start command to theimage control unit 404. The image control unit 404 transmits therecording start command to the image server 409, and causes the videocamera 410 to start recording image data.

The voice interaction server 408 executes the inspection item contents,and transmits the inspection result transmitted from the terminal device411 to the maintenance and inspection management unit 402, and at thesame time it requests the subsequent inspection item contents.

The maintenance and inspection management unit 402 acquires receivedinspection result data, and transmits a reception timing signal to thetiming determination unit 403. The timing determination unit 403transmits a recording stop command to the image control unit 404 basedon the reception timing signal. The image control unit 404 transmits arecording stop command to the image server 409, and acquires the imagedata recorded by the video camera 410 during the time from thetransmission of the recording start command to the transmission of therecording stop command.

The maintenance and inspection management unit 402 transmits inspectiontechnician name, inspection item names and inspection result data to theresult data control unit 412, and the image control unit 404 transmitsthe image data to the result data control unit 412. The result datacontrol unit 412 associates inspection technician name, inspection itemnames, inspection result data, and image data with one another, andstores the same in the inspection result storage unit 405.

The inspection result data and corresponding image data stored in theinspection result storage unit 405 can be referred to on a PC 406connected over the network and operated by the maintenance managementoperation supervisor or person in charge. The PC 406 comprises aninspection result query unit for querying the inspection result data andthe image data stored in the inspection result storage unit 405 using abrowser function, and a re-inspection instruction unit for givinginstructions for re-inspection based on inspection results.

FIG. 9 shows one example of an inspection result query screen 407displayed by the inspection result query unit. As shown in FIG. 9, theinspection result query screen comprises an inspection item displayfield 901, inspection result display field 902 and inspection imagedisplay field 903, and if necessary, it may be configured to display aninspection technician name. The inspection image display field 903 isconfigured so that image data is partly displayed as a thumbnail, and amoving image is replayed when a thumbnail is clicked.

The inspection result query screen displayed by the inspection resultquery unit may be configured so that when inspection result datacontains bad data, instructions can be sent directly from the inspectionresult query screen. An example of a screen thus configured is shown inFIG. 12. Further, FIG. 13 shows a flowchart of the processing at thistime.

An inspection result query screen 1201 comprises an inspection itemdisplay field 1202, inspection result display field 1203, inspectionimage display field 1204 and direct instruction button display field1205. Regarding the second item, for which inspection result dataindicated not good, when an instruction button of the direct instructionbutton display field 1205 is operated, the instruction specificationscreen 1210 appears. This instruction specification screen 1210comprises an instruction entry field 1211 and a send button 1212. Whenre-inspection instructions are input into the instruction entry field1211 and the send button 1212 is operated, contents including theinstructions are transmitted to the maintenance and inspectionmanagement unit 402. The maintenance and inspection management unit 402transmits the contents including instructions to the voice interactionserver 408. The voice interaction server 408 . executes the transmittedcontents and communicates the instructions to the terminal device 411,and the inspection result data transmitted from the inspectiontechnician via the terminal device 411 is transmitted to the maintenanceand inspection management unit 402 via the voice interaction server 408.With such a configuration, the inspection technician can performre-inspection based on instructions from a remote location.

Variations

The above explanation was of an example of a status informationacquisition device using the video camera 410 to acquire site imagedata. Alternatively, various sensors may be used to acquire statusinformation.

For example, through use of a condenser microphone, odor sensor,temperature sensor, humidity sensor, tactile sensor, pressure sensor,and other such sensors, environment information of a maintenance andinspection work site can be learned. The sensors may be respectivelyconnected to a data server, and detected data is input into the dataserver. For example, by establishing data server definition file asshown in FIG. 8, such a data server can execute notices from the statusinformation acquisition unit.

Second Embodiment

The second embodiment of the present invention will be explained withreference to FIGS. 10 and 11.

Here, as in the first embodiment, explanation will be made of aconfiguration where the inspection technician carries a terminal device1012 for the presentation of inspection item contents through voiceinteraction and for input of inspection results, and a video camera 1011for acquiring image data as a status information acquisition device.

A contents storage unit 1001, maintenance and inspection management unit1002, timing determination unit 1003, image control unit 1004,inspection result storage unit 1006, voice interaction server 1009,image server 1010, PC 1007, inspection result query screen 1008, videocamera 1011, terminal device 1012 and result data control unit 1013 haveconstitutions respectively identical to the contents storage unit 401,maintenance and inspection management unit 402, timing determinationunit 403, image control unit 404, inspection result storage unit 405,voice interaction server 408, image server 409, PC 406, inspectionresult query screen 407, video camera 410, terminal device 411 andresult data control unit 412 of the first embodiment, and theexplanations thereof are omitted here.

An image recognition unit 1005, in the same manner as the imagerecognition unit 209 explained in the schematic configuration 2,acquires image data recorded by the video camera 1011 via the imageserver 1010, analyzes this image data, and compares it with theinspection result data transmitted from the terminal device 1012. Whenthe result of comparison by the image recognition unit 1005 isnon-conformity, a signal is transmitted to the maintenance andinspection management unit 1002 informing of such non-conformity. Inresponse to the signal informing of such non-conformity received fromthe image recognition unit 1005, the maintenance and inspectionmanagement unit 1002 selects inspection item contents for executingre-inspection instructions for the relevant inspection item from thecontents storage unit 1001 and transmits such inspection item contentsto the terminal device 1012.

The inspection result data input into the terminal device 1012 as aresult of execution of the inspection item contents by the voiceinteraction server 1009, and data such as inspection technician name andinspection item names are transmitted to the result data control unit1013. Image data acquired by the image control unit 1004 is transmittedto the image recognition unit 1005.

The image recognition unit 1005 analyzes received image data using imagerecognition to judge whether the image data is consistent with theinspection result data. When judgment is made that the image data is notinconsistent with the inspection result data according to the judgmentresult, the image data is transmitted to the result data control unit1013 to cause the data to be stored in the inspection result storageunit 1006. When judgment is made that the image data and inspectionresult data are inconsistent with each other, a confirmation requestsignal is transmitted to the maintenance and inspection management unit1002.

The maintenance and inspection management unit 1002, based on theconfirmation request signal, selects the corresponding inspection itemcontents from the contents storage unit 1001, notifies the voiceinteraction server 1009 of the contents, and transmits the inspectionitem contents transmission timing signal to the timing determinationunit 1003. The timing determination unit 1003 transmits a recordingstart command to the image control unit 1004, and causes the videocamera 1011 to start recording image data.

The voice interaction server 1009 executes the inspection item contents,acquires the inspection result data from the terminal device 1012, andtransmits the inspection result data and the next contents requestsignal to the maintenance and inspection management unit 1002.

The maintenance and inspection management unit 1002 acquires theinspection result data, and transmits the inspection result datareception timing signal to the timing determination unit 1003. Thetiming determination unit 1003 transmits the recording stop command tothe image control unit 1004, and causes the image data recording tostop.

If as a result of image recognition by the image recognition unit 1005,an inconsistency with the inspection result data is found, the aboveprocess is repeated.

Third Embodiment

The third embodiment of the present invention will be explained based onFIGS. 14 and 15.

Here, as in the first embodiment, explanation will be made of aconfiguration where the inspection technician carries a terminal device1413 for presentation of inspection item contents through voiceinteraction and for input of inspection results, and a video camera 1412for acquiring image data as a status information acquisition device.

A contents storage unit 1401, maintenance and inspection management unit1403, timing determination unit 1404, image control unit 1405,inspection result storage unit 1407, voice interaction server 1410,image server 1411, PC 1408, inspection result query screen 1409, videocamera 1412, terminal device 1413 and result data control unit 1414 haveconfigurations respectively identical to the contents storage unit 401,maintenance and inspection management unit 402, timing determinationunit 403, image control unit 404, inspection result storage unit 405,voice interaction server 408, image server 409, PC 406, inspectionresult query screen 407, video camera 410, terminal device 411 andresult data control unit 412 of the first embodiment, and explanationsthereof are omitted here.

A schedule management unit 1402 manages an operation schedule orequipment maintenance inspection schedule for inspection technicians,correlating identification information of inspection technicians orequipment with specific operations.

When an inspection technician connects to the voice interaction server1410 through the terminal device 1413, the voice interaction server 1410notifies the maintenance and inspection management unit 1403 of theinspection technician's name. The maintenance and inspection managementunit 1403 notifies the schedule management unit 1402 of identificationinformation such as inspection technician name, and requests scheduleinformation. Schedule information can be integrated, for example, intoan interaction scenario showing maintenance and inspection workprocedures. The maintenance and inspection management unit 1403 requestsinspection item contents from a contents management unit 1401 based onthe acquired schedule information, and transmits the same to the voiceinteraction server 1410. At this time, a recording start command istransmitted to the image control unit 1405 via the timing determinationunit 1404, and image data acquisition by the video camera 1412commences.

A response is transmitted to the maintenance and inspection managementunit 1403 to the effect that as a result of execution of the contents bythe voice interaction server 1410, the inspection technician willcommence inspection operations. Based on this response received by themaintenance and inspection management unit 1403, a recording stopcommand is transmitted to the image control unit 1405 via the timingdetermination unit 1404.

Image data acquired by the image control unit 1405 is transmitted to animage recognition unit 1406. The equipment on which maintenance andinspection is to be performed each has a barcode, QR code or the likeattached thereto, and image data from the video camera 1412 carried bythe inspection technician records such identification code. The imagerecognition unit 1406 analyzes the transmitted image data to detect theequipment identification code, and determines whether the equipmentmatches the schedule managed by a schedule management unit 1403. When itis determined that the equipment matches the schedule, the prescribedmaintenance and inspection is started. When it is determined that thatthe equipment does not match the schedule, contents for sending noticeof confirmation needed to the terminal device 1413 are created andtransmitted.

Other Embodiments

(1) An inspection technician is made to carry a position detector usingGPS, and based on information from this position detector, judgment ismade whether work is being performed on equipment matching the schedule.

(2) Through image recognition of a barcode or QR code attached toequipment to be inspected, a recording start command and recording stopcommand are transmitted from the image recognition unit to the imagecontrol unit.

(3) In the above described embodiments, examples were given of systemsfor supporting maintenance and inspection work through voiceinteraction. Alternatively, text data or image data can be transmittedto a terminal device carried by an inspection technician, and theinspection result data input in the terminal device is acquired. In thiscase, the contents storage unit stores contents written in HTML, XML orthe like so as to include text data or image data. Alternatively, a cellphone terminal carried by the inspection technician can comprise a CHTMLbrowser, so that maintenance and inspection operations are supportedthrough the cell phone terminal CHTML browser. In this case, contentswritten in CHTML are stored in the contents storage unit.

(4) The terminal device and status information acquisition device mayalso be configured so that a device installed a maintenance andinspection work site is used.

As explained above, with the present invention, equipment maintenanceand inspection operations can be efficiently processed, and the skippingof maintenance and inspection operations, input mistakes or the like canbe prevented, thereby enabling acquisition of highly reliable inspectionresult data.

This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No.2005-314340. The entire disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No.2005-314340 is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

While only selected embodiments have been chosen to illustrate thepresent invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art fromthis disclosure that various changes and modifications can be madeherein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined inthe appended claims. Furthermore, the foregoing description of theembodiments according to the present invention are provided forillustration only, and not for the purpose of limiting the invention asdefined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

1. An equipment inspection support system that supports an inspectiontechnician who is to perform equipment maintenance inspection byoperating a terminal device for sequentially displaying details of workto be performed by the inspection technician and for receiving input ofinspection result data from maintenance inspection work, and a statusinformation acquisition device for acquiring status informationconcerning a maintenance and inspection work site, comprising: acontents storage unit for storing inspection item contents for eachmaintenance and inspection work to be transmitted to the terminaldevice, and interaction scenarios for determining an order of theinspection item contents to be transmitted to the terminal deviceaccording to equipment maintenance inspection procedures; a maintenanceand inspection management unit for receiving the inspection result datafrom the terminal device, and for selecting and transmitting to theterminal device the inspection item contents stored in the contentsstorage unit based on the interaction scenario stored in the contentsstorage unit and the received inspection result data; a timingdetermination unit for determining timing for status informationacquisition by the status information acquisition device based on theinspection item contents transmitted to the terminal device by themaintenance and inspection management unit and the inspection resultdata transmitted from the terminal device; a status informationacquisition unit for collecting the status information acquired by thestatus information acquisition device according to the statusinformation acquisition timing determined by the timing determinationunit; a result data control unit for creating a result datacorrespondence table for associating the inspection result data receivedby the maintenance and inspection management unit with the statusinformation collected by the status information acquisition unit; and aninspection result storage unit for storing inspection result data,status information, and result data correspondence table.
 2. Anequipment inspection support system according to claim 1, wherein thestatus information acquisition device is a video camera for acquiringimage data of the maintenance and inspection work site.
 3. An equipmentinspection support system according to claim 2, wherein the statusinformation acquisition device further comprises one or more sensorsselected from the group consisting of a condenser microphone, odorsensor, temperature sensor, humidity sensor, tactile sensor, pressuresensor, and a sensor for acquiring status information concerning themaintenance and inspection work site other than image data.
 4. Anequipment inspection support system according to claim 3, wherein thetiming determination unit comprises a result data judgment unit forjudging whether the inspection result data is normal or abnormal; andwhen the status information acquisition device is a video camera, thestatus information collected by the status information acquisition unitis correlated with inspection result data and stored in the inspectionresult storage unit regardless of whether the judgment result by theresult data judgment unit was normal or abnormal, and when the statusinformation acquisition device is not a video camera, the statusinformation collected by the status information acquisition unit iscorrelated with the inspection result data and stored in the inspectionresult storage unit only when the judgment by the result data judgmentunit was abnormal.
 5. An equipment inspection support system accordingto claim 3, wherein the timing determination unit comprises a resultdata judgment unit for judging whether the inspection result data isnormal or abnormal; and the status information collected by the statusinformation acquisition unit is correlated with the inspection resultdata and stored in the inspection result storage unit only when thejudgment by the result data judgment unit is abnormal.
 6. An equipmentinspection support system according to claim 2, further comprising animage recognition unit for analyzing image data transmitted from thestatus information acquisition device for comparison with the inspectionresult data transmitted from the terminal device, wherein when there areinconsistencies in the image recognition unit comparison results,inspection item contents giving instructions for re-inspection of therelevant inspection item are transmitted to the terminal device by themaintenance and inspection management unit.
 7. An equipment inspectionsupport system according to claim 1, further comprising: an inspectionresult query unit for allowing a third party to query the inspectionresult data and status information stored in the inspection resultstorage unit; and a re-inspection instruction unit for causing, withrespect to the maintenance and inspection work corresponding to theinspection result data and status information stored in the inspectionresult storage unit, inspection item contents that indicate additionalinspection to be transmitted from the maintenance and inspectionmanagement unit to the terminal device, and/or causing the statusinformation acquisition unit to reacquire the status information fromthe status information acquisition device.
 8. (canceled)
 9. (canceled)10. An equipment inspection support system according to claim 1, whereinstatus information acquisition means inserts additional information suchas maintenance and inspection work location, acquisition time,inspection technician data and the like into acquired status informationusing an invisible digital watermark.
 11. (canceled)
 12. An equipmentinspection support system according to claim 2, further comprising anobject of inspection detector for performing image recognition of imagedata from the status information acquisition device, determining theidentification code attached to the equipment or device to be inspected,and determining conformity with the inspection item contents currentlybeing processed by the maintenance and inspection management unit. 13.An equipment inspection support method that supports an inspectiontechnician who perform equipment maintenance inspection by operating aterminal device for sequentially displaying details of work to beperformed by the inspection technician and for receiving input ofinspection result data from the maintenance inspection work, andacquiring status information on a maintenance and inspection work sitefrom a status information acquisition device, comprising: storinginspection item contents for each maintenance and inspection work to betransmitted to the terminal device, and interaction scenarios fordetermining an order of the inspection item contents to be transmittedto the terminal device according to equipment maintenance inspectionprocedures; receiving, in a maintenance and inspection management unit,the inspection result data from the terminal device, and selecting andtransmitting to the terminal device the stored inspection item contentsbased on the stored interaction scenario and the received inspectionresult data; determining, in a timing determination unit, timing for theacquired status information based on the inspection item contentstransmitted to the terminal device by the maintenance and inspectionmanagement unit and the inspection result data transmitted from theterminal device; collecting the acquired status information according tothe status information acquisition timing determined by the timingdetermination unit; creating a result data correspondence table forassociating the inspection result data received by the maintenance andinspection management unit with the acquired status informationcollected by the status information acquisition unit; and storing theinspection result data, acquired status information, and result datacorrespondence table.
 14. A computer-readable medium storing a programfor causing a computer to execute an equipment inspection support methodthat supports an inspection technician who is to perform equipmentmaintenance inspection by operating a terminal device for sequentiallydisplaying details of work to be performed by such inspection technicianand for receiving input of inspection result data from the maintenanceinspection work, and acquiring status information of a maintenance andinspection work site from a status information acquisition device,according to a process comprising: storing the inspection item contentsfor each maintenance and inspection work to be transmitted to theterminal device, and interaction scenarios for determining the order ofthe inspection item contents to be transmitted to the terminal deviceaccording to the equipment maintenance inspection procedures; receiving,in a maintenance and inspection management unit, the inspection resultdata from the terminal device, and selecting and transmitting to theterminal device the stored inspection item contents based on the storedinteraction scenario and the received inspection result data;determining, in timing determination unit, timing for the acquiredstatus information based on the inspection item contents transmitted tothe terminal device by the maintenance and inspection management unitand the inspection result data transmitted from the terminal device;collecting the status information acquired by the status informationacquisition device according to the status information acquisitiontiming determined by the timing determination unit; creating a resultdata correspondence table for associating the inspection result datareceived by the maintenance and inspection management unit with thestatus information collected by the status information acquisition unit;and storing the inspection result data, status information, and resultdata correspondence table.